Indonesian media greeted the birth of an independent East Timor with
congratulations and the stated desire for better ties. But behind the
positive rhetoric remains a Government and armed forces determined to
avoid responsibility for past abuses in the new nation.

Analysts at the hearings, in which 18 senior Indonesian generals and
administrators are being tried in Jakarta for crimes against humanity, say
the process will probably end in acquittals - and with more
congratulations among the generals for literally getting away with murder.

In its editorial, the Republika daily said: "Full support for the
new state and Government in East Timor should be one of the forms of
Indonesia's orientations in the future." But, along with the leading
daily Kompas, it said East Timor also had a responsibility to
"help" Indonesia.

"Now that Indonesia has shown its commitment to co-operate with
[East Timor], it is time for President Megawati to seek the commitment of
Xanana Gusmao . . . to help free Indonesia from the effects of various
problems related to relations between the two sides so far," said
Republika.

"For a new page in relations to be smooth and clean . . . there is
a requirement, that is, a mutual understanding," Kompas said.

Evidently, Indonesia wants East Timor to let Jakarta's generals off the
hook, which ignores the extent of international concern on the issue.
Analysts say the extraordinarily large military delegation sent to East
Timor on the weekend indicated a similar insensitivity to how Indonesia
appears to the world.

"The visit of President Megawati Sukarnoputri to Dili could have
been a turning point for Indonesia's international reputation but has
turned into a problem of its own," wrote the Media Indonesia daily.
"Indonesia keeps stumbling into the same old disease, the disease of
blowing up small things and trying to belittle things that should have
been big . . . This is a bitter lesson for us," it admitted.

But international observers of the generals' trials doubt if that
lesson would be heeded.

They say the judicial process is being perverted to such an extent that
the concept of war crimes has already been lost.

Prosecutors who would normally put as strong a case as possible are
instead describing "riots" by East Timorese before and after
their independence vote in 1999, which required calming by Indonesian
troops.

"Regardless of the political aspects of these trials, legally
[prosecutors] are already ridiculous," said a diplomat monitoring the
trials.

"An attorney making a case would normally bring in the witnesses
first to establish that a crime has been perpetrated. Here, they brought
in the generals first and have given each of them a chance to blame
everything on the United Nations.

"These are merely show trials and I expect the indictments to
collapse.

"The Attorney-General has no interest in the case. There is no
argument for what they are supposed to be proving, namely, the widespread
and systematic pattern of gross human rights abuse," the diplomat
said.

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